Ignite Innovation By Starting Fires Instead of Putting Them Out
Innovation is not intuitive. Innovation is one of the most challenging parts of progress, because you have to predict needs before the need arises. Customers can’t tell you which direction to go for your product or your service designs. You have to develop an innovation strategy that incorporates feedback from your users and customers, but thinks well beyond where they are today and predicts where they’re going to land.
Innovation is like a fire, but it’s up to you whether it’s an uncontrollable forest fire or a slow and controlled burn. The actual fire is not the main focus of your energy, it’s the direction in which the fire is moving. You’re really not putting out fires. It’s ironic — people say, “well, I’m spending all day putting out fires,” but I spend all day lighting fires. You’re trying to stop the fires that are burning in the wrong direction. Innovation is a fire, and you want a fire.
Because innovation requires you to piece together so many parts of a puzzle, but yet anticipate where your product and your customers will be in the future, it’s a very risky proposition. It’s a very time-consuming proposition. It’s a very costly proposition, but that’s why it’s difficult to do. The firms that are good at innovation understand how to take risks and gather those puzzle pieces, but point well in advance where their customers are and focus almost unilaterally on the value that’s created in the products and services that they’re designing.
Remember, like a fire, innovation has to take its natural course. You can’t try to force it in a certain direction or push the timeline. I think there’s a very natural course that you need to adhere to with innovation. Of course, it’s different for each business, but the common mistakes are pursuing too many things or trying to expedite innovation in unnatural ways. Let the fire burn in the natural direction it wants to go, but tend to the edges. Be the shepherd of the fire and guide it, rather than force it.
